If you run a small sales team, you know the pain: too many tools, too little time, and way too many “must-have” features that sound better in a demo than in reality. This review is for small business leaders and sales managers who just want something that works—and won’t take weeks to set up. Let’s take a hard look at Insightly, a B2B GTM (Go-To-Market) platform that promises to handle your CRM, sales, and project management, and see how it stacks up against the competition.
What Is Insightly, Really?
Insightly bills itself as an all-in-one customer relationship management (CRM) and project management platform, aimed at small to mid-sized B2B sales teams. The pitch: one tool for tracking leads, managing deals, automating follow-ups, and even running post-sale projects. In theory, this means less tab-hopping and more selling.
But “all-in-one” can mean “jack of all trades, master of none.” So, does Insightly deliver—or just pile on features you’ll never use?
Setting Up: First Impressions Count
Getting started with Insightly is pretty painless. The sign-up is straightforward, and the onboarding wizard doesn’t drown you in jargon. You can import contacts from spreadsheets, Gmail, or Outlook. The UI is clean (if a little bland), and you won’t get lost hunting for the basics.
Pro tip: Take 30 minutes to customize your pipeline stages and fields before inviting your team. Otherwise, you’ll end up with “Lead Source: Other” everywhere and no clue where deals are coming from.
What Works
- Quick setup: You’re not forced into a week-long configuration rabbit hole.
- Google Workspace & Outlook integration: Syncs emails and calendar events without much fuss.
- Mobile app: Surprisingly usable for checking tasks or logging a call on the go.
What Doesn’t
- Import quirks: Expect to clean up data after importing. Custom fields sometimes map oddly.
- Feature overload: The “Projects” and “Opportunities” modules can be confusing for new users. Most small teams won’t use every module out of the gate.
Core Features for Small Sales Teams
Let’s cut through the marketing fluff. Here’s what actually matters if you’re running a small sales team:
1. Contact & Lead Management
Insightly handles the basics well: you can store contacts, track leads, and move deals through pipelines. You get customizable fields, tags, and filters. Search is fast and reliable.
Honest take: If you’re coming from spreadsheets or a clunky CRM, this will feel like a real upgrade. But if you want deep customization or B2C features (like SMS campaigns), you’ll hit limits.
2. Pipeline & Deal Tracking
Visual pipelines let you drag deals between stages. You can set up multiple pipelines if you sell more than one type of service or product.
- Pros: Simple Kanban-style board, easy to update on the fly.
- Cons: No fancy forecasting or AI scoring. Reporting is serviceable, not dazzling.
3. Workflow Automation
You can automate basic stuff: send follow-up emails, assign tasks, move deals based on triggers (like “deal value > $10k”). The automation builder is visual, but not as flexible as pricier tools.
- Good for: Reminders, task assignment, sending templated emails.
- Not so good for: Complex multi-step workflows or integrations outside the Insightly ecosystem.
4. Email Integration & Templates
Insightly connects to Gmail and Outlook, so you can send, track, and log emails without switching tabs. Basic email templates are included.
Don’t expect: Fancy drip campaigns or marketing automation—this is for sales follow-ups, not full-blown newsletters.
5. Project Management
This is where Insightly tries to stand out: you can convert a closed deal into a project to manage implementation or onboarding. Tasks, milestones, and timelines are included.
Reality check: If your team already uses Trello or Asana, Insightly’s project management will feel clunky. If you don’t have a process yet, it’s “good enough” for simple post-sale tracking.
What’s Missing or Annoying
No tool is perfect, and Insightly has its fair share of “why is this still a thing?” moments:
- Reporting: Custom reports are limited unless you’re on a higher-tier plan. Out-of-the-box dashboards give you pipeline basics, but don’t expect deep insights.
- Integrations: The app marketplace is decent, but not as broad as HubSpot or Zoho. Some integrations (like QuickBooks) require third-party connectors.
- Mobile app quirks: Fine for checking info, but editing deals or running reports is best left to a laptop.
- Permissions: User roles are basic. Granular control (like restricting access by field or segment) isn’t available on lower plans.
Price: Is It Worth It?
Insightly’s pricing is fair—but only if you actually use its features.
- Essentials plan: Around $29/user/month. Gets you the basics: CRM, pipelines, email integration.
- Professional plan: About $49/user/month. Adds workflow automation and better reporting.
- Enterprise plan: Jumps to $99/user/month for advanced features and support.
Bottom line: If you just need a CRM and pipeline tracker, Essentials is fine. Pay more only if you’ll actually use automation and projects. Otherwise, you’re buying shelfware.
How Does Insightly Compare to Other Tools?
Let’s be blunt: there’s no perfect CRM for everyone. Here’s how Insightly stacks up against some real-world alternatives for small B2B teams.
| Feature/Tool | Insightly | HubSpot CRM | Zoho CRM | Pipedrive | Monday Sales CRM | |----------------------|------------------|-----------------|------------------|------------------|------------------| | Setup Speed | Fast | Fast | Medium | Fast | Fast | | Pipeline Tracking | Good | Good | Good | Excellent | Good | | Automation | Basic-Moderate | Excellent | Excellent | Moderate | Basic | | Project Management | Built-in | No (Add-on) | Add-on | No | Built-in | | Reporting | Limited (basic) | Good | Good | Good | Basic | | Price (entry-level) | $29/user/mo | Free/$20+ | $14/user/mo | $21/user/mo | $10/user/mo |
*HubSpot’s free tier is generous, but real automation/reporting features require upgrading.
Quick takes: - Insightly is best if you want CRM plus project management in one, and don’t need heavy-duty marketing tools. - HubSpot is great for growth-minded teams wanting marketing + sales in one platform (but can get expensive). - Zoho CRM offers tons of customization, but the UI can feel dated and setup takes longer. - Pipedrive is super intuitive for sales-focused teams—but no project management. - Monday Sales CRM is flexible and affordable, but more “build your own” than plug-and-play.
Who Should (and Shouldn’t) Use Insightly?
Insightly is a good fit if: - You’re a small B2B sales team (2–25 people). - You want basic sales tracking and post-sale project management in one tool. - You need quick setup and don’t want to spend weeks customizing. - You don’t need advanced marketing automation.
You’ll want to look elsewhere if: - You want deep reporting, detailed forecasting, or advanced automation. - You have a dedicated marketing team that needs email campaigns and lead scoring. - You already use (and like) a separate project management tool.
Pro Tips for Getting the Most Out of Insightly
- Start simple: Don’t turn on every module at once. Nail your pipeline and contact management first.
- Clean data matters: Spend the time to clean up your imports. Bad data here sticks around forever.
- Automate little things: Use workflow automation for reminders and assigning tasks. Saves real time.
- Skip what you won’t use: If “Projects” feels like overkill, ignore it. Don’t force your team into features just because they’re there.
Keep It Simple, Iterate Often
Don’t let the perfect be the enemy of the good. Insightly won’t magically close deals for you, but it can get your team organized and out of spreadsheet hell. Set it up, see what actually helps, and adjust as you go. If you find yourself fighting the tool more than using it, move on—there’s no shortage of CRM options out there. The key is to pick something, actually use it, and improve your process over time. Your future self (and your sales team) will thank you.